Proactive Investors reported that Blue Sky Alternative Investments (ASX: BLA) will raise up to $25.5 million in an equity raising at $1.50 a share through a placement and a renounceable rights issue. This is pitched at a a 21.1% discount to the last traded price. The funds will provide additional capital for ongoing co-investment in Blue Sky managed funds and to demonstrate balance sheet scale to enhance conversion of potential institutional mandates.

Australia's Money Management reported that when it comes to hedge funds, the watchful gaze of regulators seems never to be far behind.

CHINA

The Financial Times reported that wealth management products are a slippery stepping stone for China as short-term savings products sold mostly by banks to retail and institutional investors continue to grow, often offering better returns than straight corporate bonds to all investors, including banks themselves.

Opalesque found that Asian hedge funds have received fresh funds from Chinese investors. Source.

Asian Investor reported that a long/short equity hedge fund, Xingtai, planned by ex-Lunar Capital executives aims to be the largest focused on mainland China consumer-related companies.

The Wall St Journal reported that China Cinda Asset Management Co. has lined up 10 cornerstone investors to take up 44% of the funding it seeks to raise-up to $2.46 billion-in its initial public offering, with two US hedge funds and Norway's Central Bank among their number.

The Financial Times reported that Citic Securities Futures, part of the Citic Securities group, has established a Rmb2bn ($330m) fund of seed capital that will invest in local hedge funds.

HONG KONG

AIMA Hong Kong expressed its support for the Hong Kong Financial Services Development Council's vision for Hong Kong as a pre-eminent international financial and asset management centre.

Business Week reported that Naoki Iwami, a former managing director at Millennium Capital Management in Tokyo, expects to raise about $150 million by the end of March for his hedge fund that invests in bonds and currencies. The Whiz Rock Global Macro Investment Fund, with about $50 million, has returned about 1 percent since inception in August, said Iwami, executive vice president at Tokyo-based Whiz Partners Inc. Insurers, pensions and regional banks in Japan have invested in the fund and fund-of-hedge funds at home and abroad are now showing interest, he said. His performance outpaces a 0.58 percent gain by the Eurekahedge Pte index that tracks similar funds.

KOREA

The Financial Times reported a new cross-border investment fund between Korea Investment Corporation and its Russian sovereign wealth fund counterpart, the Russian Direct Investment Corporation.

PAN ASIA

Bloomberg reported that big hedge funds are all the rage in Asia as firms from Goldman Sachs to GLG launch Asian hedge funds.

The Economic Times reported that former Goldman Sachs Group Inc trader Andrew Wang is preparing to launch an Asia hedge fund that will bet mainly on the coveted combination of Chinese and Japanese shares.

The South China Morning Post reports that Geoff Barker, a former HSBC economist, plans to start a new Asian macro hedge fund in March after lead-managing an earlier pool to a 10.4 per cent annualised gain since 2006. Counterpoint Asian Macro Fund would be managed by a venture he set up with City Financial Investment, making him the first Asian-based manager backed by the London-headquartered company, which was led by two former executives of Invesco's Perpetual asset management unit.

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co expects alternative credit, including loans and mezzanine financing, to play a more important role in the private equity giant's Asian operations over the next three years, said KKR Asia Managing Partner Joseph Bae, who was attending the Citi 2013 Global Financial Services Conference in Hong Kong.

Reuters reported that Blue Rice Investment Management, founded in 2009 by the former chief investment officer for Korea Investment Corporation, Guan Ong, will return investors' capital by the end of the year. Guan Ong was interviewed in Asia Pacific Intelligence in October of 2012.